patrickanderson.ca

I left things hanging yesterday with a hint.  I should rather have called it a cryptic clue, but anyway.   John 3:30 simply says, “He must increase, I must decrease.”  John the Baptist said it in reference to Jesus, but that’s not really relevant here.   

What I wanted to convey is the idea of getting out of the way.   

I’ll back up a bit.  My experience playing with Team Canada from ‘97 to ‘08 was nearly perfect.  No, we didn’t win everything.   But we won our share.  And I feel like I maximized my potential, all things considered.  What more could I ask for?

Immediately after winning Worlds in Amsterdam in ‘06, I felt a seismic shift.  It was like a rubber band had suddenly snapped inside me.  It was alarming.  I hadn’t realized just how tightly wound up I’d been.  It was also thrilling.  I could sense the beginning of the end.  And a new beginning.

Three years later, that new beginning remains enigmatic.  The beginning of what? I’ve explored, plotted, advanced, retreated.  Been to music school and back.  Seen wild visions of new wheelchair basketball leagues and discovered that I have friends who’ve seen them too.  I’ve talked about everything and tried anything.

So what does that have to do with getting out of the way?  Well, simply this.  That kind of distracted focus is obviously not the soul of a successful national team program.  Neither is talent or skill level in my opinion.  What drives a program is the passion to compete.  And once that passion has run its course, it’s time to step aside and clear the road for someone else.

One might counter that the pursuit of excellence is the soul of sport.  But that pursuit does not happen in a vacuum.  The thrill of competition is the spark that ignites the pursuit of excellence.  Not once like a forest fire, but again and again, like an engine. 

I’ll leave it there for now.  

Big game coming up for us tomorrow ie. Friday.  Canada vs Brazil at 5pm PDT.  I look forward to seeing how we handle their passion.  They’re rather excitable.